New Books
Making IT Work by
The evolution of the multi-billion-dollar computer services industry, from consulting and programming to data analytics and cloud computing, with case studies of important companies. The computer services industry has worldwide annual revenues of nearly a trillion dollars and employs millions of workers, but is often overshadowed by the hardware and software products industries. In this book, Jeffrey Yost shows how computer services, from consulting and programming to data analytics and cloud computing, have played a crucial role in shaping information technology -- in making IT work. Tracing the evolution of the computer services industry from the 1950s to the present, Yost provides case studies of important companies (including IBM, Hewlett Packard, Andersen/Accenture, EDS, Infosys, and others) and profiles of such influential leaders as John Diebold, Ross Perot, and Virginia Rometty. He offers a fundamental reinterpretation of IBM as a supplier of computer services rather than just a producer of hardware, exploring how IBM bundled services with hardware for many years before becoming service-centered in the 1990s. Yost describes the emergence of companies that offered consulting services, data processing, programming, and systems integration. He examines the development of industry-defining trade associations; facilities management and the firm that invented it, Ross Perot's EDS; time sharing, a precursor of the cloud; IBM's early computer services; and independent contractor brokerages. Finally, he explores developments since the 1980s: the transformations of IBM and Hewlett Packard; the offshoring of enterprises and labor; major Indian IT service providers and the changing geographical deployment of U.S.-based companies; and the paradigm-changing phenomenon of cloud service.
Publication Date: 2017
The Digital Matrix by
Technology has changed the way consumers shop, communicate and consume media so profoundly, we feel like we are already living in the future. But the truth is, this is only the first wave of digital business transformation. Respondents to a recent survey of more than 900 business leaders in 12 countries estimated that 40% of the world’s largest companies will be displaced by digital disruption in the next five years. The healthcare, agriculture, fashion, energy and automotive industries and others will be transformed in much the same way that way Uber has upended the taxi industry, and Airbnb has made hotels irrelevant for millions of travelers. Most CEOs in these arenas have no clue how to respond to the opportunities and threats that now confront them. How might a Detroit automaker take the lead in robot cars? How might a fashion company reposition with wearable technology? How might the availability of real-time personal data change the way insurance companies and healthcare providers design and deliver their services? The Digital Matrix: Rulebook for the Business of the Future has the answers they need. Author Venkat Venkatraman is a Boston University professor, researcher, and consultant who has built his 30-year career on studying industries and business systems transformed by digital technologies. Legacy companies can succeed by developing new business models around digital technology, and by developing strategic relationships with entrepreneurs and digital giants. Failure to interconnect with these other two sets of players is fatal. The Digital Matrix explains how to do it successfully. Through compelling case studies, Venkatraman illustrates specific ways in which industry incumbents are using emerging technology to reimagine every aspect of their business. Examples in the book include Nike, Monsanto, Disney, John Hancock Financial, John Deere and GE, among many others. Venkatraman shares four winning rules for digital success, and provides tools to help readers apply them in their own businesses. The book leads readers, step by step, through the process of diagnosing their current position, analyzing their strengths and opportunities, and designing their own digital playbook for success. Every industry’s future is digital. Companies born of the industrial era can no longer count on decades of "business as usual” ahead. But they also don’t need to accept extinction as their fate. Urgent and uplifting, analytical yet practical, The Digital Matrix is an easy to follow rulebook for every business leader whose sights are set on survival today, and success in years to come.
Publication Date: 2017
Platform Revolution by
Uber. Airbnb. Amazon. Apple. PayPal. All of these companies disrupted their markets when they launched. Today they are industry leaders. What's the secret to their success?These cutting-edge businesses are built on platforms: two-sided markets that are revolutionizing the way we do business. Written by three of the most sought-after experts on platform businesses, Platform Revolution is the first authoritative, fact-based book on platform models. Whether platforms are connecting sellers and buyers, hosts and visitors, or drivers with people who need a ride, Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Paul Choudary reveal the what, how, and why of this revolution and provide the first "owner's manual" for creating a successful platform business.Platform Revolution teaches newcomers how to start and run a successful platform business, explaining ways to identify prime markets and monetize networks. Addressing current business leaders, the authors reveal strategies behind some of today's up-and-coming platforms, such as Tinder and SkillShare, and explain how traditional companies can adapt in a changing marketplace. The authors also cover essential issues concerning security, regulation, and consumer trust, while examining markets that may be ripe for a platform revolution, including healthcare, education, and energy.As digital networks increase in ubiquity, businesses that do a better job of harnessing the power of the platform will win. An indispensable guide, Platform Revolution charts out the brilliant future of platforms and reveals how they will irrevocably alter the lives and careers of millions.
Publication Date: 2016
Managing IT Performance to Create Business Value by
Managing IT Performance to Create Business Valueprovides examples, case histories, and current research for critical business issues such as performance measurement and management, continuous process improvement, knowledge management, risk management, benchmarking, metrics selection, and people management. It gives IT executives strategies for improving IT performance and delivering value, plus it guides them in selecting the right metrics for their IT organizations. Additionally, it offers knowledge management strategies to mature an organization, shows how to manage risks to exploit opportunities and prepare for threats, and explains how to baseline an IT organization's performance and measure its improvement. Consisting of 10 chapters plus appendices, the book begins with an overview of performance-based strategic planning, after which it discusses the development of a quality improvement (QI) plan, establishing benchmarks, and measuring performance improvements. It covers how to design IT-specific measures and financial metrics as well as the establishment of a software measurement program. From there, it moves on to designing people improvement systems and discusses such topics as leadership, motivation, recruitment, and employee appraisal. The final few chapters show how to use balanced scorecards to manage and measure knowledge-based social enterprising and to identify, analyze, and avoid risks. In addition to covering new methods and metrics for measuring and improving IT processes, the author looks at strategies for measuring product development and implementing continuous innovation. The final chapter considers customer value systems and explains how to use force field analysis to listen to customers with the goal of improving customer satisfaction and operational excellence.
Publication Date: 2016
The Adventures of an IT Leader by
What does it take to lead and manage your company’s tech? Becoming an effective IT leader and manager presents a host of challenges--from anticipating emerging technologies, to managing relationships with senior executives, vendors, and employees, to communicating with the board. A good IT leader must also be a strong business leader. This book--now thoroughly updated with a new preface by the authors and current tech details and terminology--invites you to accompany new CIO Jim Barton as he steps up to leadership at his company. You’ll get a deeper understanding of the role of IT in your own organization as you see Jim struggle through a tough first year, handling (and fumbling) all kinds of management challenges. Although fictional, the scenarios are based on the authors’ long experience working withreal-life companies across industries and sectors. The Adventures of an IT Leader is both an insightful story and an instructive guidebook. You can read it from beginning to end or treat it as a series of cases, skipping around to different chapters that address your most pressing needs. (For example, if you need to learn about crisis management and security, read chapters 10-12.) You can also test yourself and think about how to use the book’s lessons in your own company by reading the authors’ "Reflection” questions at the end of each chapter. This book is your indispensable manual for IT management and leadership, no matter what business you’re in.
Publication Date: 2016
Books
BU Library Online Catalog For books that circulate, use the subject term:
Information Technology, Computer Science, Internet, Artificial Intelligence, Management Information Systems, Information Storage & Retrieval Systems, Software Engineering, Computer Networks
Ethical IT Innovation by
Explaining how ubiquitous computing is rapidly changing our private and professional lives, Ethical IT Innovation: A Value-Based System Design Approachstands at the intersection of computer science, philosophy, and management and integrates theories and frameworks from all three domains. The book explores the latest thinking on computer ethics, including the normative ethical theories currently shaping the debate over the good and bad consequences of technology. It begins by making the case as to why IT professionals, managers, and engineers must consider the ethical issues when designing IT systems, and then uses a recognized system development process model as the structural baseline for subsequent chapters. For each system development phase, the author discusses: the ethical issues that must be considered, who must consider them, and how that thought process can be most productive. In this way, an 'Ethical SDLC' (System Development Life Cycle) is created. The book presents an extensive case study that applies the "Ethical SDLC" to the example of privacy protection in RFID enabled environments. It explains how privacy can be built into systems and illustrates how ethical decisions can be consciously made at each stage of development. The final chapter revisits the old debate of engineers' ethical accountability as well as the role of management. Explaining the normative theories of computer ethics, the book explores the ethical accountability of developers as well as stakeholders. It also provides questions at the end of each chapter that examine the ethical dimensions of the various development activities.
Publication Date: 2015
The New IT by
Introducing a Powerful New Business Model for Today's IT Blogger, speaker, software executive, and bestselling author Jill Dych#65533; has been thinking about leadership a lot lately. Having consulted with business and IT executives with Fortune 500 companies for most of her career, she has heard a common refrain: "What should we do about shadow IT?" She's decided to address the answer head-on. With the onslaught of cloud solutions, consumerization of technology, and increasingly tech-savvy business people, it's time for a manifesto for leaders who recognize--and are nervous about--the demands of the digital age. Whether you're an executive, department head, or IT manager, The New IT provides an action-ready blueprint for building and strengthening the role of IT in your company--and prescribing IT's future. Learn how to: ASSESS your current and future IT profile ALIGN your IT organization with business priorities MAP technology delivery plans according to business priiorities ORGANIZE IT according to your company's culture and strengths REDEFINE innovation and talent management practices BUILD a stronger and enduring role for IT as a business partner By using field-tested techniques to align your IT department with your corporate objectives, you can leverage the power of technology across the entire company. The New IT provides a set of tactical and experienced-based frameworks to help you and your colleagues conceive a new roadmap. It also includes real-world case studies and best practices from successful, technology-enabled companies such as Toyota, Merck, Brooks Brothers, Union Bank, and many others. You'll hear from major industry pioneers, IT thought leaders, and other change agents who are leading the way in this new frontier. And you'll learn how to bring your business and IT together in a way that is truly transformative. The new IT is more than computing power. It balances strategy and delivery. It's interactive and inclusive. It's as omnipresent as the smart phone and just as revolutionary. It equips you with the tools you need to succeed in reframing the IT conversation and propelling your business forward. Praise for The New IT "Jill has penned a de Toquevillean map of the digital world. Should be a required text for every business leader in the country." Thornton May, futurist and author of The New Know "Enterprise IT has reached an inflection point in how services are delivered and consumed, requiring our profession to undertake a transformation of our own. Jill Dych#65533; describes well the challenges we face, how to assess them, and how to take action to complete the journey toward modern enterprise IT." Kimberly Stevenson, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Intel "Conversational, intuitive, and intelligent, this book goes right to the heart of governance (control), innovation (change), identity (authority), relevance (alignment), and influence (strategy). It's a timely book that should be read by executives across organizations." Peter Marx, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer, City of Los Angeles "A highly readable, entertaining book that will help CIOs and their executive partners address the ongoing challenge of converting IT from a strategic liability to a strategic asset." Peter Weill and Jeanne Ross, MIT Center for Information Research and authors of IT Governance "Everywhere I go I hear complaints about the old IT. Jill Dych#65533;'s book provides a comprehensive roadmap to changing IT to suit our analytical, consumer-driven, bring-your-own-device times!" Thomas H. Davenport, Distinguished Professor, Babson College, and author of Competing on Analytics and Big Data @ Work
Publication Date: 2015
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